Red Wings Fans Should Not be Questioned
Let's give Free Press columnist Mitch Albom this much credit. He struck a chord in our community with a column questioning why people did not sell out Joe Louis Arena for the first game of the Western Conference Finals against the Dallas Stars.
Unfortunately it struck a chord because his words were based being out of touch of what is actually happening in this city. This is not the time to question fans about their loyalty to a team. This is not the time to criticize them for not filling Joe Louis Arena or chastise them for not being loyal to the Wings.
It is too simple to say the economy is struggling in the state of Michigan. It goes much deeper than that. Thousands of people are in pain. You got to get out and talk to people to understand what is going on around here.
Let me give you some real life stories of folks I've run into in just the last three months.
*** I spoke to some fans in a down river bar who used to attend 20 games a year. They were laid off by Ford Motor Company and they not only cannot justify going to Wings games, but they've even cut down the number of times they watch games at a local sports bar.
*** I spoke to an upset waitress in a bar because she was not needed for her shift. She said she needed tip money because her infant son only had six diapers to last him the next couple of days. She refused my offers for diaper money.
*** I know of at least a dozen young people under the age of 25, including our former next door neighbor Julie, who left the state for jobs in other places. They complained that they could not get the jobs they wanted here.
*** Two sets of our friends left companies that went bankrupt. Travel teams in soccer, baseball and hockey complained that their numbers are down.
There are more stories but you get the picture.
My wife Abs and I enjoy going to concerts and plays at the Fox Theater and some of the smaller venues around Detroit. I can safely say I have not been to a sold out concert or play in more than three years. That is not to say these places do not sell out. I just have not been to any of them.
As the price of food sky rockets because of high fuel prices there are more people just trying to hang on rather than hang out.
People are finding cheaper ways to entertain themselves. They watch games at sports bars or at home. Sometimes it is tough to justify a $200 evening to watch a game live when bills are due and junior needs a pair of new shoes or a pack of diapers.
There is also this question. If an organization like the Wings was not totally loyal to the fans then why should fans be blindly loyal to them? The Wings made a huge mistake when they lowered payroll by 50 percent following the lockout but did not lower season ticket prices and offered fans Joe Bucks instead.
They are making amends now with new marketing and by lower tickets prices, but the fan base still remembers that blunder.
People are still going out and enjoying Tigers baseball and other things. But folks are now forced to pick and chose more. I am fortunate in that I have two jobs. Yet I sure hate going to the gas pump and paying nearly $4 a gallon. If it is rough for me to fill that pump I can just imagine what it is like for some of you.
This is not the time to question your loyalty. Detroit is filled with great fans who love their teams more than they deserve sometimes. They want to support their athletes and teams. Many just can't at this time. Many are down and they are in pain. This is not the time to punch them in the gut. You guys deserve better.
I can be reached at Terry.Foster@detnews.com or 313-222-1494.Comments
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Red Wings Attendance
Bettman's gotta go!!! He is killing the NHL and ruining the game that fans love...
w w w . F i r e B e t t m a n . c o m
Well said!
I'm glad someone stood up to repudiate the nonsense Albom wrote the other day. Not only was it out-of-touch with reality, but the entire premise of his article was based on misinformation or lazy reporting. The Red Wings in fact nearly sold out that particular game (the attendance was somewhere around 20,000 - which would have been an easy sell out in most NHL arenas), and the only reason there appeared to be so many empty seats early in the game was that a free T-shirt giveaway backed up the lines to get in.
Embarassingly for the Free Press, one of their own articles a day or two later completely contradicted everything in Albom's column.
He made the city of Detroit and Red Wings fans (not to mention hockey fans in general) look bad because his writing gets national exposure that a lot of other hockey coverage doesn't in this country. Everyone from Mike Wilbon to Don Cherry came in and kicked us further after that column, and I'm guessing they were influenced by it.
And I also heard there were not enough gates open and it made it more difficult to get into the building. Maybe the paper should hire you as its Red Wings correspondent.
-- Terry Foster
Red Wings Attendance
Perhaps Mitch,who can afford Wings tickets should write a story about how the fans who are hurting would most certainly watch them on television if Mr. Illitch would put them back on local stations.
When times are tough,as they are now, folks turn to the most available entertainment around.
That just happens to be free television.
Would the Red Wings and Tigers be where they are now fan- wise without WKBD, who Illitch abandanded,along with many,many fans for FOX dollars and the Rupert Murdoch monopoly?
You guys are great supporters of all the teams -- even the Lions. Do not apologize for waht you do.
-- T Foster
Red Wings Fans Should Not be Questioned
Dear Terry,
Just a quick note to say THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. Beautifully written and eloquently stated. His comments made me so angry, I lambasted Mitch Albom in the "Red Wings Forum" the other day. But you summed things up a little better than I did. Thanks again and nicely done!
I am sure your language was nice and spicy. I said what you wanted to say in a nice way.
-- Terry Foster
Red Wing fans should not be questioned
Terry, as usual I enjoyed your article. I am one of those die-hard Detroit sports fans that had to relocated out of the state so I could support my kids. My address may say Clinton Township, but since March I have been in CT working to give my kids what they need in Marysville. I am a divorced father but my kids will never go without as long as I can help it. I miss them terribly and only see them once a month. I long for the day I return to the great state of Michigan. I am tired of listening to the Red Sox and the Yankee banter it drives me crazy. Times are tough and we do what we can do to survive. I listen and watch Detroit sports when I can and enjoy listening to your station and WDFN online when I can. Both of those stations make Detroit proud. Go Wings, go Pistons and dang it...GO Tigers. Go Terry Foster, keep on writing my man and I will keep on reading....
Dan B.
Groton, CT (oh the pain)
Thank you for sharing your story. The best to you. Keep doing what you are doing and you will make it back to Detroit some day. Your children should always be your top priority.
-- Terry Foster
Red Wings Attendance
After checking out the latest blogs, I had to go read Mitch's article on Red Wings attendance for myself...and i'm now convinced Mr. Albom is completely out-of-touch with Detroit. I love the Red Wings and will forever be a staunch supporter, but let's analyze the situation: A history of inflated ticket prices coupled with a SORELY outdated facility (if you disagree, visit an Atlanta Thrashers game next time you're in Atlanta) and throw in a crippled economy for good measure. Why aren't more fans in the stands? Maybe he'd know if he spent less time checking for his name on the NY Times Best-Seller list and more time paying attention to what's REALLY going on in this town.
Mitch is a very good writer. However, he needs to spend more time here with people and talk to them. It is one thing to read about a bad economy. It is another to experience it. If he had done that he never would have written that column.
-- Terry Foster
Wings fans
Terry--one of the best articles I've read depicting how things really are for many,many people in our country-and particularly in the Detroit area-sports have to take second place and family needs always first--thanks for the great analysis!!
Thank you. But this one was easy to write. It was painful at times. However, it is time to stand up for regular folks now and then.
-- Terry Foster
Red Wings fans should not be questioned
Hi, Terry. Love your radio show . Just wanted to add to support your argument. During the first round against the Predators i recieved a pair of FREE wings tickets .Even with the freebies i managed to drop just over $100 going to the Joe.That was 1 beer 2 soda pops for my son some pizza and parking. Gas at the bargain price of $ 3.27 a gallon did not even count towards this venture. I have a decent job with nice wages and i almost dreaded getting the free tix because that money could have paid the utilities or paid for my meals for the week. Thank you for "airing" the realities of the real people of Southeast Michigan.
You are quite welcome. I am glad you enjoyed the show and the blog on the Red Wings fans situation. We need to stay in touch with those who read and listen to us. Sometimes we in the media do not listen and we give you what what we think you want.
-- Terry Foster
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